Tuesday, 20 February 2018
…which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 1 Timothy 6:15
Paul, while giving Timothy a solemn charge, exhorted him to keep the commandment faithfully “until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.” Now he continues with that thought by saying, “which He will manifest in His own time.”
It doesn’t say here that God will manifest Christ Jesus on a date when rapture date-setters say will occur. Paul leaves His manifestation up to God. There will be no hint of His appearing until He chooses to appear, and it will be a specific moment in time which is completely at His choosing, and His alone. As Charles Ellicott states, “Here the language of fervid expectation is qualified by words which imply that in St. Paul’s mind then there was no certainty about the period of the ‘coming of the Lord.’ It depended on the unknown and mysterious counsels of the Most High.”
From there, Paul then states, “He who is the blessed and only Potentate.” The word here is dunastés. It is where our modern word “dynasty” comes from, and it signifies one who is a ruler or potentate. It is someone mighty in power. In this case, it means that only God is truly in such a position of rule and power, and that any other is below Him. The position He rules from is above all others. This is then explained by the words, “the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Any king or lord on earth is subject to His true kingship and lordship. The scepters they possess are only because of His allowance. It is He who sets up kings and deposes them. No rule and no authority attains to His position, and all will acknowledge this rule when they are gathered before Him.
In the words found here and the coming verses, scholars attribute these titles to God directly. And rightly so (see verse 13). The next verse describes that which can only pertain to God. However, the same title, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” is given to Christ Jesus in Revelation 19:16 (and a modification of this term is found in Revelation 17:14, which is also speaking of Jesus). Thus, we have a clear and obvious reference to the Deity of Jesus Christ.
Life application: Paul has once again said, clearly and unambiguously, that which is stated in Acts 1:7 and in 1 Thessalonians 5:1. We are not privy to the timing of the Lord’s return. That information belongs to God alone, and it will not be made known until it occurs. Rapture date setters are disobedient to the word of God. Do you think God will tell them when Christ is coming when they are already in disobedience to His word? Nah, not going to happen.
Precious heavenly Father, how good you are to us to have sent Christ Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. You have cleansed us in His precious blood, and You have reconciled us to Yourself. All You ask us to do is to believe. Christ died for our sins; He was buried; and He rose again, proving He had no sin of His own. By a simple act of faith in that, we are restored to You. Open eyes and hearts to this wonderful message, O God. And help us to be willing to share it so that those eyes and hearts can respond. Amen.